Elite Teenage Figure Skaters and Former World Champion Coaches Were Among D.C. Plane Crash Victims
The commercial American Airlines flight that collided with an Army helicopter in the air near the Washington, D.C. area’s Ronald Reagan National Airport Wednesday evening carried gymnasts, personnel, and family members associated with the U.S. Figure Skating Association, the group confirmed Thursday. Government officials have said that they believe there are 67 fatalities in the crash, with no survivors.
Doug Zeghibe, CEO of the Skating Club of Boston, confirmed via a statement posted to the club’s social media that six people associated with his club were onboard the flight, which departed from Wichita, Kansas.
“We are devastated and completely at a loss for words,” the statement reads in part. “These athletes, coaches, and parents were returning from U.S. Figure Skating’s National Development Camp, following last week’s U.S. Championships in Wichita.” The club sent 12 athletes to the camp, which it described as a training ground for “young competitive skaters of tomorrow with the most promise to be a champion of tomorrow.” Not all of the club’s athletes were on the doomed flight.
The club named 13-year-old athlete Jinna Han and her mother Jin Han; 16-year-old athlete Spencer Lane and his mother Christine Lane; and two coaches, a married couple, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova as being on the flight. Lane posted an Instagram Story shortly before takeoff of his view out the plane’s window.
Shishkova and Naumov won the world championship in pairs figure skating for Russia in 1994. Their son, Maxim Naumov, 23, is a member of Team USA and competed in the championships, placing fourth. He reportedly returned home ahead of his parents on Monday.
“Once again, Maxim made us all proud, getting on to the podium at Nationals after 7th place in the short,” the caption on the final post from the couple’s joint Instagram account, shared Wednesday, read in part. “This beautiful and emotional performance is a result of a team work.”
In a social media post Thursday, U.S. Figure Skating called the incident an “unspeakable tragedy.”
The championship tournament, which was held from January 20-26, is the final qualifier for the U.S. World and World Junior Championship teams.
According to U.S. Figure Skating’s website, the development camp is a three-day program for “top-performing juvenile, intermediate, and novice athletes at the U.S. Sectional Finals,” those on track to be part of Team USA. Camp attendees may also be invited to participate in other elite competitions and programs based on their camp performance.
Douglas Lane, the father of Spencer Lane, spoke to WPRI news in Rhode Island and called his late son “a force of nature” who was “just loved by everyone.” Zeghibe, his club’s CEO, said Spencer was “rocketing to the top of the sport.”
Spencer’s grandparents told The Washington Post that the boy had found skating through YouTube. “Athletes twirling, leaping, and gliding across smooth ice. He was hooked. He practiced four days a week,” they said. “He was working hard to pull off a triple axel. His eyes were set on the Olympics.”
Nancy Kerrigan, who also competed and took home a silver medal in the 1994 Olympics, said in an impromptu press conference at the Skating Club of Boston’s rink in Norwood, Massachusetts—she is an alum—that though she didn’t interact with the Russian couple at the ’94 Games, they had crossed paths at the club.
“Everything you’ve heard of them maybe being a little tough but with a smile on their face” was true, she said. “[They were] always welcoming and we were happy to see one another.”
“I’ve never seen anyone love skating as much as these two and that’s why it hurt so much,” she said.
Zeghibe, standing beside her, said the pair were “incredibly kind, they were so kind, but they had high standards.”
Doug Zeghibe, CEO and Executive Director, pauses after speaking with the media at The Skating Club of Boston.Boston Globe/Getty Images
Kerrigan said she had been watching the news reports of the crash all night, and headed to the club’s facilities “to be here and be part of our community,” calling it “the only place I thought I should be right now.”
Elin Schran, a coach at the club and founder of a local skate performance group, praised Spencer’s “natural grace and beauty and understanding of ice” and pointed out that he had only begun skating about three years prior. “I’ve never seen somebody coming to it so fast, so naturally.”
Zeghibe also praised young skater Jinna, saying she was driven and “in it to win it.”
“She was a serious competitor but so nice about it and so supportive of her fellow competitors and a delight,” he said. “For a 13-year-old, she was so full of grace.”
When he heard the news of the crash, Zeghibe said, “My first thought was, ‘This can’t be happening.’ Second thought was, ‘This can’t be happening again.’”
On February 15, 1961, before Zeghibe was born, multiple coaches and athletes from the club died when their plane crashed while en route to the World Championships in Prague.
Skater Jon Maravilla, another development camp attendee, told the Daily Beast that he was stunned by the news.
“I still can’t believe it,” he said of the reported dozen-plus members of the skating community who were on the flight. “I was just with them watching them have lots of fun and just enjoying their time.”
The Philadelphia Skating Club also released a statement that “several members” of the club were among the crash victims.
Elite figure skaters spend long hours of training most days of the week, and competitors often become familiar faces and even friends.
“Skating is a very close and tight-knit community,” Zeghibe said in his club’s initial statement. “These kids and their parents, they’re here at our facility in Norwood, six, sometimes seven days a week. It’s a close, tight bond. This will have long-reaching impacts for our skating community.”
This is a developing story.
-
Inside Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Big Business Ambitions, 5 Years After Their Royal Exit
-
The Brutalist’s AI Controversy, Explained
